Hochul rejects Trump order renaming Lake Ontario ‘Lake America’
What's new: States and Canada are not required to adopt the federal name change, leaving maps and signage split.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul pushed back Thursday after President Donald Trump ordered Lake Ontario renamed “Lake America” in federal usage, saying New York would keep using the existing name. Trump’s order directs the Interior Department and the Board on Geographic Names to update federal records and guidance, but it does not bind states, Canada or international naming bodies. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney also rejected the change, saying the name Lake Ontario is more than 400 years old and comes from the Wendat word Ontari’io. The lake borders New York and Ontario and links the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean through the St. Lawrence Seaway.